Высоко (Visoko) Lyrics in English by Mia Boyka
"Высоко" (High) is a straight-up hopeful song about refusing to give up. It opens on a worry, "Мы так одержимы целью, но можем все потерять" (we're so obsessed with the goal, but we could lose it all), and it is blunt about time: "Ему ведь на нас плевать" (it doesn't give a damn about us). Плевать literally means "to spit", and "на ... плевать" is the everyday way to say someone couldn't care less.
The chorus is where the song lifts off. "Повезет всем назло" (we'll get lucky to spite them all) uses всем назло, a handy phrase for doing something precisely because others expect you to fail. Then come the wings: "И расправив крылья, взлетим высоко" (and spreading our wings, we'll soar high). Расправив is a participle, "having spread", which Russian loves in songs and textbooks hate to explain. The second verse calls the impossible "такой пустяк" (such a trifle) and promises that people who aren't afraid to fall will learn what height really is. It is simple, a bit sugary, and very easy to sing along to.
